Photo: The burly German ex-pat, who manages
theLowenbraurestaurant, carried an incredible 20 one-litre steins full
of bier, through an obstacle course of tables, chairs and
Thursday-night revellers, to claim the title. (enlarge
photo)

"The secret to stein-carrying is you
need to have long, slender fingers - but you also need strong,
manly arms," he said. "Having a passion for what you do and
a love of drinking beer also helps, especially in the practice
stages when you tend to spill a lot. "I always drink wheat
beer because it has 14 amino acids to help muscles grow,"
he said.

With each beer-filled stein weighing at least
2.5 kilograms, Mr Wurtz carried 50 kilograms of beer and glass
in the record-breaking effort. Wurtz said it was the amino acids in his favourite
wheat beer that gave him the strength to carry close to 50
kilograms across the bar in the harboursideLowenbrau
Keller, Australia's biggest German beer barn.

Also helping was a ready supply of bretzel, the
home-baked Bavarian pretzel. Next year Wurtz is contemplating
a bid to improve his record.Even though each stein weighs 2.3 kilograms
– for a total weight of some 46 kilos - Reinhard says with
the right training regime, the record was always destined
to be his.(enlarge
photo) “There’s a wheat bier I like – I also like pretzels,”
he told us about his preparation.

When asked before the event if he felt the
pressure because the record was held by a woman – Reinhard
was airily dismissive. “I thought 17 was a little easy, so
I thought I’d do 21 to show off a little.” Although one stein
hit the deck Reinhard still easily cleared the record with
20 and after the official announcement he was even cockier.Bavarian-born restaurant managerReinhard Wurtz, who recently became an Australian citizen,
took the world title for theMost
bier steins carried over 40 metresfrom Munich barmaidAnita Schwartz, who managed to cart 16 steins the requisite
distance.